STUDENTS WITH DRUG RECORDS CUT OFF FROM FINANCIAL AID

When Marisa Garcia heard about a new law denying federal financial aid to
students with drug convictions, she never thought that it would apply to her.

She had just paid a $415 fine for a misdemeanor charge of possession after
police found a pipe with some marijuana ashes in her car.

Garcia, 20, a sophomore at California State University at Fullerton, is one
of thousands of college students who are being denied federal loans, grants
and work assistance, under a 1998 revision of the Higher Education Reform
Act that is being strictly enforced for the first time this year.

The law took effect last year, but the number of students affected is
expected to rise dramatically this year because of a tightening of
enforcement under the Bush administration.

The law withholds federal loans, grants and work assistance from students
for one year for each conviction for illegal drug possession and for two
years for each conviction for selling drugs. Additional convictions result
in indefinite ineligibility.

U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., sponsored the law after hearing that drug
use was skyrocketing among college students, said his spokesman, Seth Becker.

But critics say the law does not deter drug use. Instead, it is
counterproductive, they say, because it takes away the opportunity for
education from those who need it most. It also unfairly affects only low-
and middle-income students, often minorities, who need help paying for
college, critics say. In addition, it singles out drug users, while those
convicted of other crimes can get aid.